Is Your Beard Affecting Your Oral Health?

Key takeaways about beards and oral health:

  • Beards don’t harm oral health directly, as the bacteria they may carry aren’t the kind that cause cavities or tooth decay.
  • Cleanliness matters! Well-groomed beards can be cleaner than shaved skin; regular washing, moisturizing, and trimming are key.
  • Full beards can hide jawline changes that might signal serious oral health problems, so regular dental check-ups are important.

Whether you love them or hate them, beards are a fashion statement that never seems to go out of style.

Although beards are considered a stylish accessory, their potential impact on oral health raises important questions. Does having a beard affect your oral health? The answer may surprise you!

Anatomy of a beard

A beard, as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “the hair that grows on a man’s face often excluding the mustache.” A beard can vary in length,  from a subtle five o'clock shadow to a record breaking 17 feet long (although most beards are much shorter)!

Here are some fun facts about beards:

Misconceptions about beard cleanliness

One of the biggest misconceptions about beards is that they’re dirty. Are beards really full of germs? The answer is – it depends.

An unkempt beard can harbor bacteria and shed microbes, whereas well-groomed beards may sometimes carry fewer harmful bacteria than freshly shaved skin. However, a study published in the Journal of Hospital Infection found that male hospital workers with facial hair did not harbor more potentially concerning bacteria than clean-shaven workers, and in some cases, clean-shaven individuals were significantly more likely to be colonized with pathogens linked to hospital-acquired infections.

To keep your beard clean, the American Academy of Dermatology Association recommends the following:

  1. Wash your face and beard with a gentle cleanser every day.
  2. Use circular motions to cleanse your face and beard.
  3. Moisturize every day to prevent dry, itchy skin.
  4. Keep up on grooming your beard by using a beard comb and trimming as needed.

Beards and oral health

Do beards affect oral health? The short answer is not really.

If a beard is not cleaned with soap on a regular basis, as mentioned above, it may have an excess of germs and bacteria that are close to your mouth. While these germs can make you sick, the good news is they’re not likely to cause oral health problems such as tooth decay or cavities. This is because the bacteria that are sometimes found in beards are not the same bacteria that can cause oral health problems.

Although beards are not known to cause dental problems, they can make it harder to see changes on and around the jawline. New lumps on the jawline can be an indication of something very serious, including oral health problems. An abscessed tooth or even oral cancer can cause swelling on the jawline, and a full beard may make it hard to see these changes.

All in all, a clean beard will probably not affect your oral health. However, it’s important to keep up with good hygiene and stay vigilant about checking for new lumps underneath the beard.